Brewing tea has been one of the most popular ways of enjoying kratom for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. And for good reason. The leaves of the kratom tree have a decidedly bitter taste. In fact, just brewing the leaves in a cup of hot water isn’t nearly enough to make kratom that tastes great. Depending on where it is grown and how it is processed, kratom’s natural bitterness can be moderate to overwhelming. The good news is that proper preparation and flavoring can turn kratom into a delicious hot or refreshing iced tea. Try out your favorite spices, sweeteners, and creamers. Here’s how to make your own cup of great-tasting kratom tea.
Basic Kratom Tea Brewing Methods
To make best kratom tea you can, start with the fundamentals of brewing kratom tea. If you don’t want to do a deep dive on every tip and method, here are the basic procedures for brewing kratom tea:
- Measure out your serving size of kratom. One gram of kratom powder is an average serving size for beginners and tends to work well in an 8oz cup of tea. People who are especially sensitive to kratom may find as little as half a gram does the trick, while others may need as much as three grams or more to get the best result.
- Put the loose leaf kratom powder in some kind of mesh tea infuser. If using extra fine powder, wrap the infuser in two layers of cheesecloth to prevent too much of the powder residue from leaching into the water. You can also add the kratom directly to the hot water and strain the powder after the fact.
- Heat two cups of filtered water (or more) to the boiling point. While many people like to make each cup fresh, you can brew up to two quarts of tea and keep it refrigerated for up to five days.
- Allow the water to cool for about 1-3 minutes before adding the kratom, as boiling water may scald the leaves or powder and increase bitterness. If you want to enjoy a cup of hot kratom tea, we recommend not waiting too long before you start steeping.
- Place the infuser in the water and allow to steep for about 15-20 minutes. This may sound like a long time, but kratom doesn’t dissolve quite as easily as other tea leaves.
- Remove the infuser. You can enjoy your cup of hot tea right away or you can pour it over ice to make iced kratom tea. cubes for immediate consumption. If you made extra, allow the remaining tea to cool down to room temperature, then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
How to Make Kratom Tea Taste Better
Now comes the good stuff. There are any number of ways of making kratom tea taste better. You can reduce tea’s natural bitterness by reducing its alkalinity. This is easily done by adding citric acid, which also tends to help your body absorb the kratom alkaloids. Citric powder or a few drops of straight lemon, lime, grapefruit or orange juice work well. Adding citric acid also helps to keep the tea fresher while stored in the refrigerator.
That said, most people will also choose to add a creamer and/or sweetener to their cup of tea. This is especially true if you’re making a stronger batch of kratom tea that also tastes great.
Tips for Adding Flavor
Citrus fruit, as well as any other type of fruit juice, will also add flavor to the tea. Adding fruit juice to your kratom tea will give the tea a lighter, sweeter flavor. Likewise, you can brew herbal teas together with kratom tea. Here are some ideas for teas that go well with kratom:
- Apple cinnamon tea
- Chamomile tea
- Chai tea
- Green tea
- Mint tea
- Orange pekoe tea
- Orange blossom tea
- Raspberry tea
- Blackberry tea
- Spice teas
- Sweet tea
- Vanilla tea
You can also try mixing multiple flavors of tea to see which combinations you like best. As a rule of thumb, brew equal amounts of kratom with other teas for the best balance of flavor.
Adding Creamers and Sweeteners
Adding creamers will give the tea a smoother texture and slightly sweet flavor that helps cut the bitterness. Here are some examples of creamers for making kratom tea:
- Plain or flavored soy milk.
- Plain or flavored oat milk.
- Plain or flavored almond milk. This is an especially excellent choice as the alkaloids in the almonds compliment the chemical composition of kratom tea.
- Plain whole, reduced fat or fat-free milk.
- Sweetened evaporated or condensed milk.
- Coconut milk.
- Flavored and plain nondairy creamers. These include vanilla, hazelnut and caramel. More creative flavors include snickerdoodle and macadamia nut.
Other Ideas
- Sweeten kratom tea with unrefined or brown sugar.
- Black-strap molasses impart a malty and smokey flavor.
- Maple syrup gives kratom tea a sweet robust kick.
- Agave nectar gives kratom tea a naturally tart flavor.
- Honey adds a sweet and earthy flavor.
- Hot or iced latte. Mix one half of any kind of milk with half kratom tea.
- Half lemonade and half kratom tea.
Find the Best Recipe for Your Taste
These are just a few of the tried-and-true ways of making great-tasting kratom tea. Hot or iced, there are as many ways of making kratom tea as there are any type of tea or latte. Try experimenting with flavorings and combinations to see what you can come up with and which you like the best.
Just don’t experiment with kratom you can’t trust. If the last thing you need to get started is the kratom itself, we encourage you to shop our collection of kratom powders. If you want to explore other options, check out our guide to the best places to buy kratom locally and online.